


FORBIDDEN GIRLS (AND TS) NIGHT

by zinabug



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Gen, Shenanigans, girls night, listen I know the ts was busy but IT WANTS TEA, placed during udad, tw: teeth (chapter three)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23500636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zinabug/pseuds/zinabug
Summary: the TS. it wants tea.
Relationships: Nastya Rasputina & Ivy Alexandria
Comments: 26
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to the mechs discord this is your fault.   
> this might have more or less then three chapters but we'll see.

“Everyone else has left.” 

Nastya looked up from where she was replacing a wall panel. Too many bullet holes in the old one. 

“I know.” she started to screw in one of the bolts holding the panel down. “I thought you left as well. It has been a couple days.” 

“I’m here, and so is the Toy Soldier. Do you want to have tea together?” 

Nastya looked up from her work. “And the Toy Soldier?”

“Well, you know how it is. It just likes to be included.” Ivy wandered over and sat down next to Nastya. “What are you doing?” 

“Fixing this wall panel.” Nastya lightly rapped on it with her knuckles. 

Ivy nodded wisley. “I read this fascinating book about the history of instruments, and, did you know that-” Ivy started rambling on about music and history, Nastya mostly listening as she continued with the repair work. It was interesting, but she was very focused on her work. 

Ivy finished when Nastya only had one bolt left. Nastya and Ivy didn’t often spend time together, but when they did, it was likely to be a trading of information and attempts at comfort if anything. 

When Ivy comforted you, it came in a barrage of interesting facts and draping blankets over shoulders and cups of tea. She would sit next to you and talk, waving her hands the more excited she got. Ivy didn’t do physical contact often, but when she did she was closer to a blanket then anything. She would drape across laps and hug over shoulders and curl up into your side. 

When it was Nastya’s turn to do the comforting, it came in listening and sharing silence and sadness, and touches. Light touches to the shoulder, brushing away tears, pulling you in for a one armed hug. She would talk too, tell tales and speak about the Aurora. She could speak about the Aurora for hours on end. But that was rarer, and she was more likely to listen with an arm over your shoulders.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go down to the City?” Nastya asked. “Biggest library in the universe, technically.” 

Ivy flinced. “I don’t like the Acheron. It makes me uneasy.”  _ too close to my own mind.  _

Nastya nodded and finished with the wall panel. “I think the TS was planning on heading down as well, but Jonny tied it up in storage bay 7. It’ll probably head down later.” 

“We only have four storage bays.” Ivy said, picking up Nasta’s toolbox as she headed for her quarters to put it away. 

“I know. Storage bays 0.5, 3, 14 and 7.” Nastya picked up the piece of old wall panelling. She could probably melt it down and reuse it, or Raph could experiment with it. Dripping acid or something, probably. 

“Do you want to have tea after we drop this off, then? It’s tea time down in the City, at least below us.” Ivy said. “Probably with the TS.” 

“The TS loves having high tea.” Nastya set the panel down outside her door. She just used the room for storage, it was too cold and too far from the heart of the Aurora. “It’ll want to have high tea, with dressing up and fancy little snacks.” 

“Yes, well that might be fun.” Ivy said. “I wouldn’t let it cook, there is a 98% chance that it will put teeth in it somehow.” 

“Can you cook? Bsides making very good tea?” 

“Not well, no. I haven’t tried often. You should go after Brian or Raph for cooking.” 

Nasya nodded. She knew how to make simple dishes after years of just her and Jonny, but their cooking experience was about equal. She could make bread and stew and baked beans and sausage and coffee. Tim, laughing, had called it cowboy food.

“I don’t know how to make fancy little snacks.” Nastya said. “We might have something in the pantry.” 

Ivy frowned. “I mean, we could go down to the City and shop, or we could eat stale crackers.” 

“I hate both of those options.” Nastya grumbled. She hated the City, loud and dirty and full of neon lights and people who would try to stab you for being in their way. Ivy liked it even less, preferring the quiet of the library. She got overwhelmed sometimes, her mind unable to process everything around her. 

“If we leave the TS here we can just pop down and find a store quickly before we head back up.” Ivy said. 

“You don’t like the City any more than I do. Why are you suggesting it?” Nastya pushed some screws to the side and set her toolbox on the desk, next to a battered six shooter with three notches in the handle. She picked it up for a minute and looked at it, before picking up its holster, equally battered, and strapping it around her waist. 

“Oh, it might be fun.” Ivy said, picking up one of Nastya’s daggers. “Girls night, as it’s called.” 

“I hate that idea.” Nastya said. 

“So do I!” 

“Let’s do it.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you can't even get pastries without getting in a gunfight.

It was technically an escape pod that they had landed, but it had undergone so much modification by Nasyta that at this point it was a functional small ship. They landed on the rooftops. 

It was raining. It rained a lot in the City, rain that didn’t seem to clean anything but instead spread filth around. The two of them stood on the rooftop and watched neon lights flicker in the darkness. 

“I don’t think it’s tea time, Ivy.” Nastya said. 

Ivy shrugged. “Like it’ll stop the TS. it wants tea.” 

“It can’t even drink tea.” Nastya sighed. “It just splashes it on its face.” 

“Again, like it’ll stop the TS.  _ it wants tea _ .” Ivy looked up into the rain. “We were going to get fancy cakes and things right? Where would we get those?” 

“I don't  _ know.”  _ Nastya said. “We could ask, but we’re more likely to get a knife to the chest than an answer.” 

“Let me get my tablet.” Ivy ducked back into the former escape pod and started to fiddle with it.

“What are you doing?” Nastya asked, taking off her glasses and putting them in her pocket. They were getting wet.

“Hacking into the Acheron and getting a map.” 

Nastya shifted from foot to foot. Technically, it's impossible to hack the Acheron. But Ivy was literally a computer. She was speaking under her breath, eyes flicking back and forth across strings of code that flashed across the screen, too fast for Nastya to figure out what it said. 

“I have a map!” Ivy announced. “We didn’t actually land too far away from the fancy places.” 

Nastya nodded, walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down. They were about twenty stories up, and this was one of the shorter buildings. 

“Is there rooftop access for this building?” Nastya asked. 

Ivy looked around. “Let me look.” she ran over to a trapdoor on the roof that Nastya hadn’t noticed. 

“Can we unlock it?” Ivy asked. 

“Yes.” Nastya walked over, pulling out her six shooter. She shot the padlock. It broke after two shots. “Unlocked.” 

Ivy nodded. “That works. Property destruction works.” 

“Property destruction tends to work.” Nastya lifted the trapdoor. “Come on.” 

Twenty flights of stairs is very annoying. Not very hard, just very annoying. Ivy had a habit of reciting poetry that was becoming very tiring very quickly. Nastya tried to slide down the banister at one point, but fell off about halfway through and tumbled the rest of the way down that flight. 

They didn’t encounter anyone all the way down. Ivy’s poetry slowly got quieter and quieter until she was just mouthing the words. Nastya tried to slide down the banister again. This time, it actually worked, at least until her coat got tangled up. 

The street outside was busy, full of people yelling and running and shoving. A few gunshots echoed through the air, and a scream. 

Nastya pulled Ivy closer to her as they pushed into the crowd. Ivy didn’t like crowds, and honestly, neither did Nastya. It set both of them on edge. 

“Come on, we just have to get to the shops.” Nastya said quietly. “This was a bad idea.” 

Ivy nodded, no longer even mouthing her poetry. 

The two of them continued on, to wider streets. Ivy seemed to have gotten over the initial shock of the noise and crowd and she was quietly explaining the plot of a mystery novel to Nastya. It was very interesting, actually, but Nasyta needed to focus on finding a bakery of some kind so they could get out of here. 

Ivy was explaining something about fingerprints when Nastya saw it. Glass windows, unbroken, displaying baked goods. 

“I found a place.” Nastya said. 

“Oh, alright, then.” Ivy looked around. “I wonder what the others are up to?” 

“Crime, probably.” 

Nastya pulled Ivy into the shop. It was mostly empty, the radio playing a mix of static and music. 

“How much do you bet Ashes is a crime boss already?” Ivy asked, looking around at the shop. There were three people at one of the two tables, probably discussing something illegal. The other table was empty. 

“I’d be willing to bet quite a bit.” Nastya leaned over the counter. Nobody was behind it at the moment, but they had left half of a sandwich behind them, so she guessed they would be back soon. “What do you want to get?” Nastya asked. 

“Oh, whatever.” Ivy shrugged. “There is a 100% chance that Jonny has killed at least one person already and a 99% chance that Ashes is a crime boss right now.” 

The three people at the table looked up. Nastya frowned at them. They guiltily returned to whatever they had been doing.

Ivy, who hadn’t noticed the attention they were getting, continued. “There is a 83% chance Tim has blown something up and if he hasn’t yet he will within the next 24 hours.” Ivy took a deep breath. “And there is a 67% chance that Raphealla will try to break into the Acheron within the next 48 hours.” 

A person came dashing back behind the counter, dumping half a dozen pastries of some kind into a bag and tossing them into a basket labeled “take out.” 

“How can I help you?” they asked. They were dressed in black and white, wearing a grey apron, striped vest, and white button up. Their hair was a burst of color, and they had several colored pins on their apron, one of them listing pronouns as they/them. 

“We are having tea.” Ivy said. “High tea.” 

“And we want cakes and things for it.” Nastya said. “Just give us something fancy that hopefully won’t stain on white fabric.” 

They raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and asked, “do you have a price range?” 

“No.” Nastya had sold a gold bar and she had enough cash for nearly anything. “No offense, but we just want to get out of here.” 

They laughed, grabbing a pastry box. “Don’t we all.” 

Ivy was listing the desserts and baked goods in the shop. The shopkeeper looked somewhat impressed at her baked goods knowledge, as they piled some things that kind of resembled meringues into the box. 

I “Have any interesting crimes been committed lately?” Nastya asked? 

The shopkeeper looked startled. “Ah, yes, actually. Massacre and fire on one of the lower levels. Some bodies were unrecoverable by the-” they looked around nervously. “Ferrymen.” 

“Sounds like Jonny and probably Ashes.” Nastya sighed. “How much will that be?” 

“Twenty cred.” they said, handing over the box. Nastya handed them thirty, even though twenty was overpriced already. 

There was another few gunshots from the street. The shopkeeper cast a nervous look outside. “You may want to stay in here until they're done.” 

“We’re fine.” Nastya said, grabbing the box. 

“You don’t want to get in the middle of a gunfight. Last thing you want to do is die.” 

Nastya laughed. “Can’t. Have a wonderful night.” 

The two of them left with the shopkeeper yelling after them, “whaddya mean  _ can’t? _ ” 

There was a gunfight going on. The two of them walked across the road, ignoring the crowd pushing around them and gunfire. A shot cut through Nastya’s coat, missing her back by inches. The shopkeeper was pressed up to the window, watching them as another shot just missed Ivy, grazing across her arm. 

“Wonder if any of them will hit us?” Nastya asked. “If they hit the pastries I will kill someone.” 

“There is a 78% chance we will be hit and a 56% chance the pastries will.” Ivy said, hooking an arm with Nastya’s. 

“Well, if they hit you, I’ll probably shoot them as well. Do you have your gun?” 

“Jonny has my gun.” 

“Again?” Nastya shook her head. “Really, Ivy, you-”

She was cut short by a spray of quicksilver and a bullet to the back. Ivy grabbed the pastry box from her hands before she crumpled to the ground. 

The shopkeeper looked horrified and shocked, probably waiting for the ferrymen to come. Ivy waved to them, cheerily. The box had a disappointing amount of quicksilver on it. She set it down and took Nastya’s laser pistol from her pocket. The six shooter was special. Nobody but her got to use it. Ivy didn’t tend to shoot to kill, but instead to cripple and cause pain. 

It would be hard to drag Nastya around, along with the pastries, so she just decided she would try and wait for her to regenerate. If it was one of the longer waits, the fight would probably be over by then. She didn’t think Nastya was properly dead anymore, but she wasn’t quite alive yet either. 

Ivy sat down next to her and watched the neon lighting reflect off the pooling quicksilver, waiting for someone to notice she wasn’t bleeding blood. 

Ivy waved at the shopkeeper again, and ducked under another shot. 

“Nastya, are you quite done being dead yet?” Ivy asked. Someone had noticed the quicksilver and was yelling something. 

“No.” Nastya said. 

“Someone has noticed the quicksilver.” Ivy said. “There is a 93% chance that it will make our situation worse.” 

“I’m still dead.” Nastya said. 

Ivy kicked her. “Listen, it’s actually getting kind of bad.” some people were yelling, running either towards or away from them. 

“Hmmm.” Nastya rolled over to look at Ivy. “that hurt.” 

“Yes, I’m sure, but you need to get up.” Ivy kicked her again. 

Nastya sighed and stood up, trying to brush off some quicksilver from her shirt, but just managed to smear it around. 

There was full on panic in the street now. Nastya had clearly been dead, her blood was clearly not blood, and she had just gotten up like it was no big deal and linked arms with Ivy again. 

“It’s very rude to kill someone!” Nastya yelled, and the two of them set on their way, ignoring the chaos and the fact that the crowd parted before them. 

“I wonder what the Toy Soldier is up to?” Ivy wondered

The Toy Soldier was wandering the halls of the ship, holding a rag in one hand and a bottle of wood polish, taken from Marius’s room, in the other. It was polishing its arm as it walked. Along it wandered, whistling and shining the wood of its skin. 

Back up twenty flights of stairs. Ivy recited more poetry while Nastya tried to get quicksilver off her coat. The quicksilver did not want to be removed from her coat. Every movement she made shimmered in the dim light of the stairwell. Ivy switched into a few different languages as they went up, ones Nastya didn't recognize. 

It had nearly stopped raining when they got onto the roof. Nastya walked over to the edge and looked down to the chaos below. 

“We should head back and actually have tea.” Nastya sighed. “This should have been simple.” 

“We tend to bring complications wherever we go, don’t we.” Ivy said wisely. 


End file.
